281
CYPHER/CAT A
IMMEDIATE UKMIS GENEVA
CONFIDENTIAL
TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
IMMEDIATE UKMIS GENEVA TELNO 1 TO TOKYO
CONFIDENTIAL.
[NEUTRAL]
14 OCTOBER 196
169
2897
1984 731 vs File
RE
ADDSD TO TOKYO TEL NO 1 OF 14 OCTOBER REPTD FOR NEMN TO FO AND
ROUTINE TO WASHINGTON HONG KONG SEOUL OTTAWA
YOUR TEL NO 697 TO F C 0.
288
200CT 1969
HKIL6/04/1
AS YOU WILL SEE FROM MY TEL NO 551 TO F C O, THE CONCLUSION WE HAVE
REACHED FROM THE LATEST US PRESENTATION OF THEIR PROBLEM IN THE
HONG KONG CONTEXT IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS THAT OF THE JAPANESE,
YOUR ASSESSMENT OF WHICH IS CONFIRMED BY WHAT THE JAPANESE MISSION
HERE HAVE TOLD US.
2. AS REGARDS A POSSIBLE GATT STUDY OF THE SITUATION (MY TELS
NO 543 TO F C O AND 23 TO HONG KONG) YOU WILL NOTE THAT THE
JAPANESE REACTION IN LAST WEEK'S MEETING OF THE COTTON TEXTILES
COMMITTEE WAS CAREFULLY NON-COMMITTAL. THEY SPECIFICALLY SAID THERE
THAT THEY HAD NO INSTRUCTIONS ON THE POINT AND WERE ONLY ABLE TO
REFER IT BACK TO TOKYO. THEY HAVE SINCE THEN BEEN TOLD (AS HAS LONG) THAT OUR REFERENCE TO IT DID NOT INDICATE ANY CHANGE IN OUR
FIRM VIEW THAT THE AMERICANS HAVE SO FAR FAILED TO MAKE ANY
CASE OF SERIOUS,INJURY.
3. YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT NAKAYAMA WAS SUBSEQUENTLY AT PAINS TO IMPRESS
ON ME THAT HIS SUGGESTION OF AN INTERNATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THESE
271 LINES (REPORTED IN MY TEL NO 536) WAS A PERSONAL ONE. FROM
WHAT HE SAID I GOT THE IMPRESSION THAT JAPANESE OFFICIALS WERE SPLIT ON THE RIGHT TACTICS TO PURSUE, WITH MIT I PRESSING THE
LINE THAT THE AMERICANS HAD FAILED TO MAKE THEIR CASE AND MFA
PERHAPS LOOKING FOR AVENUES OF ESCAPE FROM THE AMERICAN BILATERAL
PRESSURES,
F C O PASS IMMEDIATE TO TOKYO AND ROUTINE TO WASHINGTON HONG KONG
SEOUL OTTAWA
SIR E MELVILLE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE DISTRIBUTION
COMMOD. Do
LAST
RE
288
[REPEATED AS REQUESTED]
ADVANCE COPIES SENT
ADDITIONAL DISTRIBUTION HONG KONG:
INTERNATIONAL TR.
COPY TO:
MR. D. I. DUNNETT, CONDITAL
B.O.T.